


The Great Well

by Tarlan



Series: The Sorcerer King [2]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Community: mcsheplets, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-05
Updated: 2012-04-05
Packaged: 2017-11-03 02:23:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/376047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the Wraith Queen defeated, Atlantis belongs to the Lanteans once more, and Rodney has began to uncover her secrets.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Great Well

**Author's Note:**

> Written for:  
>  **mcsheplets** prompt #119 Magical Eureka  
>  **ancientctybingo** prompt #24 That's a Myth

Rodney hitched up his long robe and raced down the grand staircase taking two steps at a time, causing a panic among the Lantean guards stationed at both the top and bottom. One even cast aside his sword and turned to face up the stairs, bracing himself as if he was waiting to catch something. As Rodney ran past the guard, it occurred to him that just maybe he'd been terrified of Rodney falling. The very thought made him stumble, almost losing his footing as he slipped on the marble floor, but he carried on with the clatter of at least one of the guards dogging his footsteps.

He burst into the chamber John had claimed to conduct military business, and grinned wildly. John spun around in surprise, hand wrapping around the hilt of the great Sword of Atlantis that he had carried since finding it in the tomb of an ancient Lantean king. His eyes passed over Rodney's shoulder as the guard caught up, the tension leaving his body when he saw their was obviously no threat. He screwed up his face in an expression that Rodney had seen on his father's face so many times during his youth; one of long sufferance.

"Rodney? Kings are supposed to act... well... regally."

"What?" Rodney waved his hand to dismiss whatever John was implying. "I have it! I've deciphered the ancient runes. I know how to open the Great Well." John gasped softly and came forward, gripping Rodney's biceps almost painfully but Rodney was too excited to care. "We can journey to the far lands. To the worlds scattered among the stars."

"I thought that was just a myth," John whispered.

Rodney grinned again. Everyone knew the old stories, of faraway kingdoms lost a millennia ago when the Wraith descended upon the world of the Tau'ri, bringing them to the edge of extinction. All had seemed lost until the Ancient King Myrddin had taken the head of the Wraith Queen and cast a spell to make all of the Wraith human, bringing a semblance of peace to the Tau'ri lands. Unfortunately, the magic of the Great Well had been lost in the process, dying with that great sorcerer and king. For a time, Rodney had thought all was lost again when a new Wraith Queen emerged a little over three decades earlier and captured Atlantis, the Eternal City. He had grown up in the shadow of this new Wraith Queen, and in the years that followed, he had seen so many of the great cities of Lantea fall, losing first his brother--heir to the Lantean throne--to her hand, and then his father to grief. He had never wanted to be king, preferring to spend his hours studying the Ancient arts of magic rather than practicing diplomacy.

A few months earlier, the Wraith had been defeated once more, and Rodney had felt the power of Atlantis rippling through him from the moment he had stepped into her magnificent corridors. He had spent hours debating with the manifestation of the Oracle, learning from her, and now he had discovered what had eluded some of the greatest Lantean sorcerers. He knew how to open the Great Well: the Porta Astra.

John nodded to someone standing behind Rodney, probably dismissing the panicking guards for, by now, they all knew their king was safe with Prince John of Medea.

"John. We can find the lost mines of Langara! Or the great halls of Dakara."

John grinned back at him, eyes dancing with pleasure, following Rodney back to the Hall where the Great Well stood like a silent sentinel. 

Rodney pointed at the guards. "Allow no one to stand before the Great Well." He wasn't certain why the Oracle had given this warning but decided to heed her advice for the safety of his people.

Rodney took the stairs back up to the mezzanine level more slowly and stood before one of the altars overlooking the Great Well. He debated for a moment on which symbols to focus upon before making his decision. Raising his hands, Rodney concentrated on the energy flowing around and through the altar, letting the spell form and fall from his lips as the altar began to glow a deep, vibrant blue. In the hall below, lights began to glow upon the face of the Great Well. As the seventh symbol began to glow, the waters of the well rushed outwards in a magnificent plume before settling back, the magical surface rippling without spilling a single drop to the floor below.

Rodney was captured for a moment by its incredible beauty, slowly walking back down the stairs a step or two behind John as they moved towards the Great Well. They stood shoulder to shoulder, reaching out at the same time to touch the rippling surface, shocked when their fingers remained dry. Rodney made to step forward, eager to bathe in the deep blue pool but John pulled him back.

"No. We've no idea what lies beyond."

"Isn't that the whole point of stepping through? To find out?"

"I'd prefer a little more caution, Rodney."

"Huh! Coming from someone who tried to throw himself in front of a Wraith only two weeks earlier."

John gave him a stony look and Rodney felt a twinge of embarrassment because John had placed himself between a newly awoken Wraith and Rodney as they searched through some of the deeper levels of Atlantis. If John had not been there then Rodney might have ended up as dead as his older brother, Sumner, with his life force sucked from his body, leaving him a desiccated husk. Feeling contrite, Rodney took a step back.

An idea sprang to mind and he turned to a nearby guard, snapping his fingers when the guard did not move fast enough. Moments later he had the items he wanted in his hands--ink and paper. With careful brush strokes, he penned a greeting in the Ancient runes, then whispered a spell over the scroll to make the writing invisible to all but those of the Ancient bloodline. Once satisfied, Rodney rolled up the paper and applied the Seal of Lantea. With a nod from John, he pressed the scroll against the pool of blue filling the Great Well, watching with awe as it was sucked inside and disappeared.

With a sigh, Rodney closed his eyes and focused on the Great Well, feeling it still at his command. When he opened his eyes, the blue pool had disappeared, revealing the beautiful stained-glass window on the far wall of the great tower. Sunlight filtered through from beyond, casting a halo of gold, orange and blue across the marble floor.

"Now we wait. But only a day. I'm not waiting around forever." He marched back up the stairs and passed his hands over the altar. "In the meantime, the Oracle mentioned an impenetrable shield of magic that could be cast over the Well." He closed his eyes, and images came to him. Gasps from below made Rodney smile and he looked down across the hall to see a golden glow covering the inner circle of the Well. He turned to John with another grin, and saw affection and pride in John's eyes as a smile played about his lips.

"Cool."

"The shield draws energy from the city and can be raised or lowered as needed."

"Except the power of the city is failing, Rodney."

"And that is why our first quest should be to Camelot, to find King Myrddin's library, where he cast his magic before returning to slay the Wraith Queen. It's written that all his secrets will be revealed to a sorcerer of his blood line," Rodney gave a crooked, triumphant smile and pointed both index fingers at his own chest. "Including how to capture the power of the universe and infuse it into the Potentia."

John nodded. "Then it looks like we have a Quest."

With a triumphant grin, Rodney kissed John hard and deep before racing away to begin planning their first quest, calling for his advisors. He and John would lead the quest, of course, but he should also consider taking Carson the Healer. John would want Lorne and Ronon for added protection, and maybe he should seek counsel with Queen Teyla of Athos, who still resided in the city having passed her regal duties over to her consort, Kanaan during her absence from Athos.

As he expected, John, Ronon and Lorne joined them in the meeting chamber, and they debated well into the Lantean night until John called a halt, seconded by Teyla. As the chamber began to empty, John wrapped one hand around Rodney's arm and drew him away from the stragglers who still had questions.

"Tomorrow," John insisted, and Rodney had to admit that he was feeling tired now the initial euphoria of discovery had passed. Yet his mind still reeled with thoughts and ideas, which he aired as John led him to their sleep chamber. Once inside the doors closed behind them and locked, and Rodney blinked hard when he found himself pressed up against the door by John's hard body.

"Tomorrow," John repeated as he slowly stripped the robe and tunic from Rodney's body before removing his own weapons and clothing. The strong thigh pressing between Rodney's pushed all remaining thoughts of Camelot and Myrddin from his head. John covered him with his body, flesh to flesh, bestowing kisses that deepened as they rocked towards mutual release. He cried out softly as he came, hands gripping tighter, one buried in John's unruly hair as John nuzzled against his throat. It took all his control to lock his trembling knees and stay upright, holding onto John for support, and gasping when John bit down harder on his neck, bruising flesh; a new flood of liquid heat spread between them.

Leaning heavily upon each other, they collapsed onto the wide bed on their backs, staring up at the ornate ceiling as their breathing eased, and laughing softly as Rodney fumbled for John's hand and felt John's fingers tighten around his own.

Later still, lying clean and sated in a bed of soft linen and finely woven blankets in their sleep chamber in Atlantis, Rodney wrapped his arms around John and laid his head on John's chest. Tomorrow they would take the first step through the Great Well on a quest to find Myrddin's library on Camelot but, for now, he was content to drift into a restful sleep to the steady beat of John's heart.

END


End file.
